Portents of the Future
by Sheankelor
Summary: This is a take of a Knight, a Fae, a Ward and a King. Harry, the ward of King Albus, is sent to his death at the hands of a water sprite named Voldemort, who lived in the river Irwell, which flowed through Sir Severus' holdings. Will Severus be able to stop this death from occurring?Why was Albus forced to order this heinous deed? Why was Harry willing to comply? AR/AU HP/SS


_An: This tale is based loosely on Golden Bough's song, "The Power of the Harp", which was based loosely on a Scandinavian fairy tale, I think. Any rate, this is not that tale, but a Snarry tale. Enjoy!_

_This is also the best it can be thanks to the lovely Yen, who accepted it and worked on it until it was polished as bright as it is. _

_Portents of the Future_

Severus Snape was positive the vision that greeted his eyes during this morning's ride was one not many were privy to. The young lad he spotted had hair as dark as the night sky, fair skin kissed by the golden sun, and eyes as green as the oak leaves in high summer. This, in and of itself, was not a very unusual sight, nor was the fact that the boy was mounted on a sure-footed courser. Severus had spent a fair amount of time with the ward of King Albus of the House of Dumbledore during each of his visits to Hogwarts. No, what was unusual were the tears silently leaking from those green eyes as the lad rode through the woods.

Setting his palfrey on a course to meet up with Harry Potter, Severus wondered what could bring the lad to his land. Surely it was not himself? Did His Majesty need him at Hogwarts?

"Master Potter, what has caused you such distress? Are you injured? Why are you this far from Hogwarts?" Severus searched him for a wound or other sign of injury. Albus would be most displeased if his ward was not cared for quickly if there was a need.

Harry swallowed back the next batch of tears and scrubbed the previous ones from his cheeks. "Well met, Sir Severus." He took a settling breath before he continued. "I am not injured."

Severus waited for Harry to continue, but nothing was forthcoming. "Do you lament because you have a long road ahead or behind you? I will grant you that a courser does not have the most comfortable travelling gait. If you have ridden here from Hogwarts, I am sure that the saddle grieves you."

Harry shook his head quickly. "No, it is neither the long road nor the saddle that is causing me pain, sir. It is knowing the end of my journey is nigh."

Severus barely refrained from pulling his horse up short. "If your journey is to end soon, the only place nearby would be at my keep. Did the king send you here? Do you weep because the accommodations in my home will not be up to your standards? Or because you shall be forced to endure my presence?"

Harry's eyes widened as he gasped. "Nay! I had no intention of casting an insult, sir. I would ne'er shun you nor your home in such a way. I have always found your discourse to be fascinating when you visit the castle. I wish your keep was the end of my journey. Nay, instead my end is yon river."

Severus looked in the direction that Harry was pointing, already knowing which river lay that way – the Irwell, which babbled its way to the Mersey. His people knew to stay clear of the Irwell at this point. The bridge that crossed it, though built from stout trees as well as heavy stones and was strong enough to bear practically any load, was avoided. This section was cursed with the presence of a foul sprite which caused the water under the bridge to rage instead of babble. He was fond of causing unwary travellers to lose both their goods and their lives in the river. The smaller, more fragile bridge a mile or so upstream was the favoured crossing point.

"Why do you travel to the Irwell? I must tell you that the river is beset with a foul nacken. It is not safe." Severus waited to hear the answer.

"I know all too well that the river is beset. You see, today I ride to my death, sir. That foul creature has taken my two friends, Hermione and Ronald, away from me. They have both drowned in the river. My heart is heavy. I must go to them."

Harry nudged his horse forward, only to stop when Severus' horse blocked his route.

"Does the king know of this folly?" Severus demanded. He prayed not, but the look that crossed Harry's face told him his prayers were in vain.

"King Albus says this is the only way to end the curse. It was prophesied that I would face the wryneck, Voldemort, that lives there. I am supposedly the only one who can bring it to its end."

Severus blanched. "You are riding forth to meet the nacken - that foul river sprite - knowing that you will most likely die?"

Harry nodded as he replied, "It is the only way, according to His Majesty. I have to ride to my death. Once I have, the curse that Voldemort is spreading throughout the land, the control he is exerting over the other water sprites, the other wrynecks – though I suppose you call them nacken – will cease and the rivers of all the land will be safe to cross and use. Voldemort's corruption has travelled far and wide. They are no longer confined to your lands, Sir Severus."

Severus felt a pang at the lad's brave words. He had known Voldemort's influence was spreading. The Mersey, Irk, and Thames all had dangerous spots. The Boggart of Boggart Hole Clough was becoming especially forward with anyone who came near the lake, and was starting to guard the brook. Severus just hadn't realized it had spread out of his lands, and as such, had broken the treaty he had with the Fae that lived on his lands. The Fae were allowed small places like the bridge as long as there was still a safer way for his people to travel to their destination. This was now his responsibility, as the nacken had violated that contract.But for Harry to sacrifice himself… Severus could not abide it, even though he could see no other recourse. "Allow me and several of my men to ride with you."

He waited while Harry thought it through. A fragment of relief coursed through him when the lad nodded yes. "Wait here, it will take but a moment to assemble my men."

Riding off a short distance, he raised his horn to his lips and blew, calling in the hunting party that had ridden out with him earlier this morning. It took less than ten minutes for the party, which numbered fifteen, to arrive, their hounds milling about the feet of the horses. "Master Potter has been directed by King Albus to face the nacken of Irwell. We shall ride with him to ensure his safety."

A gasp sounded up from the party and then a resolved look came over their faces. Some gripped short staves made of ash, while others pulled out bags of rowan berries. Once Severus saw they were ready, he turned to Harry. "Now, we ride forth."

Harry nodded and signalled his courser to continue its journey, Severus beside him.

As they approached the edge of the woods, Severus was confronted by another sight, one he never thought he would see in his lifetime, no matter what the soothsayers swore they had seen while scrying. A great hart, his antlers branching numerous times and ending in so many points that it was nigh impossible to count, was dancing in front of them with his mate. Severus felt his blood run cold and then hot, his heart starting to race. This sign was only to appear when he was riding beside his intended – his true love. He stared at the pair, barely aware that his men had taken off after the two. Both the hind and the hart would supply the castle and his people with meat enough for a feast, fit for the King's ward, but the two deer quickly disappeared into the woods.

Severus blinked and looked to his side only to see Harry had continued on towards the bridge. He raced to catch up, urging as much speed out of his palfrey as he could.

"Master Potter! Harry, wait!"

In the meantime, Harry's well-trained courser had stepped onto the stout bridge with only a couple of nervous glances at the swirling and foaming waters. One of its shoes got caught between two planks and the animal stumbled.

Right in front of Severus' horrified eyes, Harry was flung from his saddle and fell into the turbulent waters below. Long pale arms reached up and pulled the young man under before he could even gasp or cry out.

Drawing his horse up short, Severus grabbed his horn again and blew it as long and as loud as he could. Now was not the time to give into the fear and grief attempting to claw its way through his heart. If he did, he would lose the young lad who was his intended.

When the hunt arrived, he could see they had missed their prize. Taking heart in the fact the two deer which represented him and Harry had escaped death, he sought out the rider on the fastest horse.

"Merick, go as fast as you can and retrieve my harp, the one strung with gold." Severus watched as his best man-at-arms turned his horse about and galloped off towards the keep.

The minutes that passed seemed to stretch out into an eternity as Severus impatiently awaited the man's return, pacing up and down the bank while casting many worried glances at the foaming river.

In what many who live outside his lands thought of as his misspent youth, Severus had wandered far and wide, his curiosity taking him into woods where he had befriended their guardians, to the coast where he had enjoyed the company of water sprites, and even into the mounds of the Sidhe themselves. It was there that he learned about the Seelie – the Light Court – and the Unseelie – the Dark Court. He learned there were both good and bad in both, made friendships in both, and that was how he had earned the golden harp. It had been gifted to him by the high Sidhe of the Seelie court. This harp was one that, if played correctly, could remove the charm off of anything: man, beast, plant or nonliving thing. He had practiced long and hard with it, as the soothsayers had foretold that, one day, his skill would save his land. He had never considered turning its power against a member of the Fae who had gifted it to him, not till now.

The thundering of hooves could be heard before Merick, his horse near foundering, burst into sight. He galloped to Severus and handed over a hard case before tending his beast.

Settling on a stone near the river, Severus focused on the song he wanted to play. It was one he had written many years ago to play for his intended in hopes of charming that one into liking something about him. He knew his homely looks left a lot to be desired.

The music in his heart flowed from his fingertips into the strings and floated in golden notes through the woods that clung to the small clearing at the river's edge and across the river. Birds flew to the nearest trees and flitted amongst the branches while singing along with him. The hounds of the hunting party left the pack and came to settle at his feet. The trees themselves seemed to shed their bark as they attempted to lean closer to the melodious song.

Severus played on, directing his song at the river, pulling at the nacken that fouled those waters and calling his beloved forth from the swirling water.

Eventually, a lithe wet body clothed in what appeared to be brackish water and reeds arose from the stream, its red eyes glaring long and hard at the knight with the harp. "Knight, you dare to use _that_ harp against me?" he demanded, his voice like an angry hiss of steam. "Release me from this enchantment at once!"

Severus ignored the demand and the gasps of horror from his huntsmen. He played on, continuing to call forth the one he was intended to love from the river. It wasn't long before Harry rose from the roiling water and walked towards the edge of the river, stopping with his legs still submerged. His eyes were open but sightless, his skin dull and lifeless. It panged Severus' heart to see those green eyes dulled with water trailing over the expressionless face and plastering the tunic to his beloved's frame.

Voldemort hovered over the lad. "Release me and I will free this one."

Severus continued to play as he meshed his onyx gaze with the malevolent scarlet one. "You shall release him unto me, and his two friends shall also go free. Then you shall leave the Isle, never to return nor spread your influence over it again."

A long hiss of defiance escaped the nacken before he answered. "I do not have to concede to all that you asked."

Severus softened his touch on the strings, coaxing a sweeter sound to his tune, drawing Harry even closer to the river bank. "We both know what will happen to you if I draw him away from you without your permission."

Red eyes narrowed as Voldemort remembered this knight's past. Snape had spent much of his youth running with the Fae, learning far more than a mortal ought.

"If you destroy me, both of his friends shall remain forever at the bottom of this river."

Severus nodded slowly. He knew that Harry would miss those two greatly, but he also knew that he could not let his intended stay in Voldemort's hands. He played even more sweetly and Harry came straight to the river's shore, his toes barely in the water.

Voldemort moved forward, keeping Harry within grabbing distance. "You would sacrifice those two? He will never be happy knowing that you did so. He will hate you for it!"

Severus accepted that Harry might hate him. He would lose his chance at true love and happiness, but it would be worth it, knowing Harry was alive. Instead of answering, he just played on, displaying his feelings in the song, calling out to Harry, willing him to come to himand away from Voldemort.

Thin hands curled tight as scarlet eyes narrowed into slits. "Fine! He and his two friends shall go free and I shall leave this isle, never to return."

Two other bodies rose from the swirling water, one with hair as brown as the bark of a tree and the other the colour of flames. Their eyes were as sightless as Harry's, and their faces just as lifeless. Algae clung to their clothes as if trying to pull them back down.

Severus continued to play as he signalled with his head to Merick to collect Harry and his friends. "They shall not be bound to you, the river, or the land in any way. They shall be honestly free of all your constraints."

An evil smile slithered across the nacken's face. "They shall be free of all constraints."

Severus narrowed his eyes as his fingers continued to dance across the golden strings, the beguiling tone melding with the birdsong around them. "They shall be alive and uninjured both mentally and physically. They shall be as they were before you captured them."

Utmost loathing warped Voldemort's face as he lost his final hold on his victims. Grudgingly, he consented and released Harry and his friends from his river. The trio started and blinked, as if awakened from some spell, their eyes gaining awareness and their skin turning rosy once more. Merick and his men, brandishing their ash staves, quickly moved forward and gathered them. They hustled the three away from the shore and wrapped them in thick coats before bringing them to the waiting healer in the group. After a quick check, Severus was told all three would fully recover their health.

"By extending your influence outside of my holdings, you have broken our contract," Severus spoke clearly. "I order you from my lands and the lands of His Majesty, King Albus. You shall have no more influence here. You are banished. Be gone. If you return, I shall spread your true name far and wide." Severus knew that if a nacken was called its true name, it would be enslaved to all who spoke it.

Voldemort's red eyes opened wide, fear for the first time entering his face. "You know my name?"

Dark eyes glittered knowingly as Severus nodded. "I did not only travel amongst the Seelie court. I befriended many of the Unseelie court and many of the lesser Fae as well. It took me years, but I know your name well and have recorded it for all to read if I pass."

"I shall leave, and will not spread my influence on this isle ever again." Defeat and suppressed fury filled Voldemort's voice.

With one loud, discordant note, Severus ended his song, and with a screech, Voldemort disappeared in a huge wave of water that sprayed over all of them before the river gentled as it once was.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Albus smiled down at the knight who had saved the life of his ward. He had been so certain Harry would never return and had let him go with a heavy heart. The diviners had made sure he knew there was no choice in the matter, though. The only way to protect his kingdom was to send his ward to his death. When he had told Harry the entirety of it, the lad had insisted on going.

Albus had never expected Severus Snape, the one knight the rest of his court did not trust, to succeed in bringing Harry home, alive and well. He had trusted that if Severus had learned of Harry's mission he would have tried, but this was beyond his expectations. He was forbidden by his diviners to request his knight to aid his ward, for Harry was to travel on this mission alone, but that did not stop him from hoping.

Smiling softly to himself, Albus looked down the length of the table. Everyone was enjoying the feast, even Severus, though the knight hid it well. He had known long ago that it was right to accept this dark man even though Severus had become too well versed in the knowledge of the creatures that roamed the land, and most of Albus' court believed Severus was a Fae changeling. They had shunned him and Severus had disappeared into the lands of his home, finding convenient reasons not to return to Hogwarts.

Long before Harry had become his ward, Albus had taken it upon himself to find out the truth of the matter and travelled to Severus' holdings to visit the knight in his keep. He had stayed for over a month, watching how the knight carried himself with a quiet authority that his people respected and deferred to, and how the knowledge he had acquired protected those who were beholden to him.

Upon his return to Hogwarts, Albus refused to hear any slander of Severus' name. He paid closer attention to the deeds of his knight and praised them openly. Eventually, the dark man accepted Albus' invitations to visit, and was soon known to make annual visits.

Taking a bite of the fatted calf that Severus had requested be roasted in place of deer meat, Albus let his mind run through all the small things that the others had no idea Severus was protecting them from. For more than a dozen years, it was his dark knight who kept Voldemort's power and influence from travelling past the River Irwell. He also knew that that particular wryneck, though the worst problem, wasn't the only one Severus had saved his people from.

Now, his dark knight had returned to him not only the ward he most favoured, but two of his foster children as well. Ronald and Hermione had been wed for just a month before Voldemort had imprisoned them and it grieved Albus that they had been taken from him so early. The rest of the court was still eyeing Severus warily, but they were not as hostile as before.

At the end of dinner, Albus told Severus he would grant him anything for the miracle he had wrought. It took no hesitation on his part to grant the boon Severus requested, especially when young Harry looked happy about the prospect of being sent back with Severus.

As he watched the two of them ride out of his gate a week later, Albus was positive this was the perfect solution to expanding Harry's understanding of the running of an estate.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry settled in his chair, his attention focused on the man he had come to love. Respect had already been there, fostered by Severus' visits to Hogwarts whilst he lived there, and admiration for saving his life and that of his two friends. Before long, those feelings went beyond mere regard, the sight of this tall dark man doing things to him he had never felt for anyone else. He had been more than happy to learn his feelings were returned in ample measure.

Now, he could not imagine living in this world without this quiet knight.

"Harry, King Albus wishes you to return to Hogwarts." Severus paced in front of the fireplace, doing his best not to look at the nineteen-year-old who had lived with him for the last four years. The last three-and-a-half of them had been all the soothsayers had foretold. This young man was his happiness embodied in bone, blood, skin and flesh. Now, his happiness was being taken away by the one man he could not refuse anything to.

Jumping up, Harry crossed the room and wrapped his arms about his lover, stopping his pacing. "I will go, as I was summoned, but I will return. He cannot hold me there."

Severus pulled him closer. "You are still his ward and will be so for as long as he declares it so. Albus is King, after all."

Harry drew in a deep breath and then sighed, letting himself relax into Severus' arms. "But we both know he has my best interests at heart. He'll let me return, he will release me from being his ward. I know it."

"We'll see." With that last statement, Severus kissed Harry hard.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was three months before Harry returned to the keep, three of the longest months Severus had ever lived through. His and Harry's favourite times were the evenings, when they would sit before the fire and he would play for Harry his special song on the harp strung with gold. In those three long months, the harp lay in its case, untouched.

Severus kept himself occupied with matters of his keep, much as he had before Harry had come to stay with him. His bedchamber was once again a lonely place. Harry had been the first one to grace his bed, and Severus knew that he would be the only one to end the loneliness found there.

Walking through the door, Harry saw the dark-haired man who was waiting for him impatiently and smiled, his heart giving a happy leap. It had taken him a while to convince Albus he was fine and was able to care for himself, but Albus only let him go after Harry convinced him that Severus was happy with him. That and the fact that the diviners had backed up his claim.

"I am home." Harry's eyes met the dark pair that looked back at him, still filled with worry. "And I am here to stay. Albus has allowed me to remain for as long as you will have me."

A slow smile curled Severus' lips as he came forward, sweet relief flooding through him. He wrapped his arms around the young man and held him tightly, pressing his lips to the messy hair.

"That will be forever. Welcome home, Harry."


End file.
